Michael Bay Talks ‘Transformers 4′: “We’ve Redesigned Everything”

Well, 'Transformers 4' is happening and Michael Bay is directing it and there's nothing the franchise's detractors can do stop it. All anyone can do now is wonder how long it'll take them to name it 'Tr4nsformers.' However, it looks like the next entry in the series will be a completely different experience...at least that's what Bay is saying.

He spilled the details during an interview with Forbes, dropping hints about what to expect between questions about his upcoming 'Pain and Gain' and his involvement in a Super Bowl Doritos contest. The biggest revelation should raise the eyebrows of old school 'Transformers' fans who have always disliked the busy and complicated style of the titular robots -- they've redesigned "everything":

"We’re going to start off smaller...There’s a brand new cast. To freshen the franchise, we’ve redesigned everything from top to bottom. The history of the first three movies is still there. We start four years later and there’s a reason why we’re meeting a new cast."

Bay also talked about returning to the massively, insanely successful franchise despite saying he was done after 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon.' His intentions certainly sound honorable, but you know that the big truck of money Paramount parked in his driveway didn't hurt:

"I said that 3 was going to be my last one. Paramount was letting me do 'Pain & Gain' and the 'Transformers' ride was opening at Universal and it was bittersweet to think of passing it off. I wanted to set it up on a really sure footing and to bring someone else in on that, it would have been overwhelming."

Finally, Bay insisted that, even though the world has been redesigned and a new cast is completely replacing the old one, 'Transformers 4' is not a reboot and there's a specific reason for the new status quo:

"We keep the 'Transformers' the way they were...It’s just four years later. There’s a reason the Transformers are redesigned. We’re trying to broaden the franchise and give it more places to go."